Automatic tobacco harvesters are now a commercial reality and are being used by an increasing number of tobacco farmers because of both the scarcity and high cost of competent labor. All of the harvesters now on the market involve a framework which provides an elongated front-to-rear passageway for tobacco plants and leaf defoliating means on each side of this passageway which are designed to strip leaves from the tobacco stalks as they pass through said passageway.